Jury Expected to Be Seated in Case of Windber Priest Accused of Abusing Boys in Honduras

By Paul Peirce
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
September 9, 2015

http://triblive.com/news/somerset/9057472-74/gibson-jury-federal#axzz3lKWRkyTT

A federal jury is expected to be formally seated Thursday morning in Johnstown to hear testimony in the trial of a suspended Somerset County Catholic priest accused of traveling to Honduras to have sex with poor street children during missionary trips.

The Rev. Joseph Maurizio Jr. of Windber has been jailed since federal prosecutors charged him last fall with molesting a boy and possessing child pornography. An indictment in April added charges involving two other boys and alleged the priest illegally sent $8,000 to a charity to help facilitate the trips that ended in 2009.

The 70-year-old Maurizio has denied the allegations. He continues to receive support from some members of Our Lady Queen of Angels, the Central City church he pastored before he was placed on leave.

While jury selection continued Wednesday, prosecutors won a legal battle to permit jurors to hear from a psychologist who treats sexually abused children and sex offenders.

In pretrial motions, Maurizio's attorney, Steven Passarello of Altoona, asked U.S. District Judge Kim R. Gibson to bar federal prosecutor Amy E. Larson from calling clinical psychologist Veronique Nicole Valliere of Fogelsville to testify.

Valliere did not interview any of the alleged victims. Passarello contends she will be called to testify in general regarding child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome, or CSAAS. He claimed the syndrome purports to identify common behaviors of child sex-abuse victims, including secrecy, delayed disclosure and retraction.

Gibson, in a ruling Wednesday, sided with prosecutors, permitting expert testimony to explain why children may be intimidated by physical abuse and deterred from complaining against the abuser.

“Dr. Valliere is qualified to offer opinion testimony regarding child sexual abuse issues, regarding victims and perpetrators,” Gibson wrote.

Gibson added in his 18-page opinion that he found Maurizio's arguments that Valliere's testimony would be unreliable and prejudicial to his defense “meritless.”

Jury selection before Gibson began Tuesday with a pool of 70 potential jurors in the federal courtroom in downtown Johnstown. Gibson ordered another pool of jurors to report to federal court Wednesday to complete the 12-member jury panel and four alternates.

Testimony is expected to begin Thursday.

Paul Peirce is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at ppeirce@tribweb.com